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Message from Linda Rayment

Linda opitimised the qualities in a lawyer and colleague that we all strive for. I am so proud of providing “fertile ground” for Linda’s development as a lawyer and especially her passion for assisting others.

All the staff will mourn her departure but continue to celebrate her success.

Good Luck Linda!

Sally Nicholes

 

Linda Rayment – Exciting News

It’s with mixed feelings, great excitement for what’s ahead and sadness of leaving lifelong friends, that I will be leaving Nicholes to pursue my passion of addressing human trafficking and slavery in Australia.

Human Trafficking Resource and Assistance Centre (HTRAC)

I will be heading up the Human Trafficking Resource and Assistance Centre (HTRAC), formerly the Human Trafficking Taskforce as its CEO and co-founder – which I am incredibly excited about!

In my position as CEO, my role will include:

  1. Overseeing a pro bono legal clinic to represent victims of human trafficking and slavery in Australia and coordinating member law firms to represent such clients.
  1. Running educational workshops for the legal profession and the judiciary to assist them in their understanding of how human trafficking and slavery occurs in Australia so that they can effectively recognise indicators of human trafficking in their daily practice and appropriately deal with such issues with sensitivity, integrity and expertise.
  1. Collaborating with professionals in the health, welfare and employment sectors to provide pro bono assistance to victims of human trafficking and slavery.
  1. Collaborating with other NGO’s and government agencies working in the human trafficking space to raise awareness of human trafficking in the Australian public and to make legislation change.
  1. Providing lawyers and law students with a platform to resource NGO’s with their initiatives and projects to eliminate human trafficking in Australia by providing research, legal advice and advocacy.

I am very excited that Fiona McLeod SC and Claire Walczak, Associate at Nicholes Family Lawyers will be on the Board and that we already have a significant amount of support within the legal profession.

If you are an NGO or government agency and would like to discuss how HTRAC could support your projects and initiatives I would love to hear from you.

Likewise, if you are a law firm, lawyer or barrister and would like to know more about joining the HTRAC referral legal clinic program to represent victims of human trafficking and slavery in Australia on a pro bono basis, or would otherwise like to join HTRAC as a legal volunteer, please get in touch.

We will be having a launch in early 2016 and if this area is an interest or passion to you we would love your support and attendance on the night.

My time at Nicholes

I commenced with Nicholes in early 2012, and am so grateful to Sally for creating a job for me when there was no position available. It was a dream come true working at Nicholes and I’m so grateful to the team, and Sally in particular, for providing me with incredible opportunities to make a difference in the community and to pursue a career in family law and human rights.

I have listed some highlights from my time at Nicholes experienced over the last 3 and a half years below:

  • Attending the 6th World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights in Sydney to support Sally and the Board when she was Deputy Chair and singing opera to all the delegates!
  • Arranging for three children from the charity, Operation Stitches to be flown to Sydney at part of the Congress and setting up an interactive TV Channel for the children to interview delegates and speakers from around the globe whilst being mentored by industry professionals in directing, presenting, script writing and sound.
  • Visiting the set of Home and Away with the children as part of their mentorship experience and ultimately presenting a package from the kids TV channel at the closing ceremony of the Congress.
  • Working with the Alannah and Madeline Foundation to put together programs for the World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights and their Child Ahead programs, as well as attending three Starry Starry Nights!
  • Arranging various fundraisers for Children’s Rights International (CRI).
  • Hosting Cambodian delegates, including Her Excellency, Secretary of State of Cambodia, Judge Chan Sotheavy in their tour to Parkville Juvenile Detention Centre and Malmsbury prison and various activities arranged by CRI.
  • Travelling to Cambodia with the Hon Alastair Nicholson to meet with Cambodian government officials to assist with the implementation of a child friendly court system in Cambodia as part of one of CRI’s initiatives.
  • Running two successful Non-Hague child abduction cases with Keturah Sageman which saw the return of 2 sets of children from Africa and Syria.
  • Winning the 2015 LIV Rising Star of the Year Award.
  • Winning the 2014 LIV Real Lawyers Award and donating the $5,000 prize money to Operation Stitches to further their community projects.
  • Being elected as the 2014 Co-chair of the LIV Young Lawyers, Community Issues Community.
  • Co-founding the Human Trafficking Taskforce with my Nicholes Family Lawyers colleague, Claire Walczak.

I am so grateful for all the support, opportunities and experiences given to me at Nicholes.

I encourage you all to not get caught up with just “doing the legal work”, but opening your eyes up to opportunities in front of you, and to make a difference where you can and to give back to the community. If you have a particular idea of where you would like to assist and can’t find where to do it – you can always start something yourself – you never know where it may lead.

Every little bit helps, it doesn’t matter if it only seems small, you have no idea where it may take you, the people you may meet and the doors it may open to ultimately make a bigger difference.

When thinking about what makes a great lawyer, never forget how important it is to not only have great technical skills, but also compassion, empathy and ethics.

It has been such a privilege working at NFL. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sally and the team for supporting me in my endeavors to give back into the community and to dream big! I am forever grateful to you all.

LIV

I am also passionate about leadership and helping students and young lawyers to make their mark in the legal profession. It is for this reason that I am running for President of the LIV Young Lawyers for 2016 with my Nicholes Family Lawyers colleague, Claire Walczak as Vice President. If you are an LIV member and law student or young lawyer (aged 36 years or under or less than 6 years PAE), we would love your support.

Voting closes on 12 November 2015!

LIV voting form

By Nicholes Family Lawyers

 

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